 | |
 Zahedan Gurdwara | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60-100 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Bandar Abbas • Zahedan • Tehran | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi • Persian • Balochi |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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Iranian Sikhs form a very small minority in Iran, with a 2011 estimate stating some 60 to 100 families to be residing in Iran. [1] [2] Members of the community speak Punjabi among themselves, and Persian and Balochi with the larger community. [3] Most Sikhs living in Iran are Iranian citizens. [4]
The first presence of Sikhs to Iran began in the 1900, when both Sikh business people as well as Sikh troops in the British military during its occupation of Iran. The primary target of Sikh immigration was initially the hamlet of Zahedan, near the border with then British India (now Pakistan) during the 1920s when the Trans-Iranian Railway project was started. [5] [6] According to a folk etymology it is believed that when Reza Shah visited the city he saw Sikhs in white robes living there and thus changed the name from Dozdab (Land of thieves) to Zahedan (plural of the persian word zâhid (زاهد), meaning 'pious') after the Sikhs who were considered zâhid (Sages) by him. [7]
An Indian school was started in 1930s located in Zahedan serving Sikh families. [8] It was shifted to Tehran in 1952 and became Kendriya Vidyalaya Tehran in 2004. [9]
In 1979 there were around 250 Sikhs in Zahedan who own motor parts distributorships, construction firms and import-export companies. [6] After the Iranian Revolution a number Sikhs left for India and Europe and remaining shifted to the capital city of Tehran. [8] [7]
In 2019 State Government of Punjab, India announced that a chair will be installed in the name of Guru Nanak in 11 universities, of which seven are in Punjab, three in other parts of India and one University of Religions and Denominations in Iran. The Chair will conduct research on life and teachings of Guru Nanak. [10]
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy in particular for the Sikh ethnoreligious group that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. The Sikh scriptures are written in the Gurumukhi script particular to Sikhs. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world, with about 25–30 million adherents.
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'.
Nankana Sahib is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among the most important religious sites for the Sikh religion. It is located about 91 km (57 mi) west of Lahore and about 75 km (47 mi) east of Faisalabad. According to the census of 2017 the city has a population of 110,135 inhabitants. Until 2005, it was a part of the Sheikhupura District.
A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs but its normal meaning is place of guru or "Home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic architecture self-narrate its princely past. It is also known as city of Palaces & Gardens. According to the 2011 census, Kapurthala is the least populated city in India.
Guru Nanak Gurpurab, also known as Guru Nanak Prakash Utsav, celebrates the birth of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. One of the most celebrated and important Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak is highly revered by the Sikh community. This is one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism, or Sikhi. The festivities in the Sikh religion revolve around the anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus. These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs. Their birthdays, known as Gurpurab, are occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs.
Dera Baba Nanak is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, in the state of Punjab, India. It is the sub-district headquarters of Dera Baba Nanak tehsil. It is 36 km away from Gurdaspur city, the capital of the district. Since November 2019, a corridor between India and Pakistan has been established at its shrine.
Kartarpur is a town located, just 102 km from Lahore city in the Shakargarh Tehsil, Narowal District in Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Ravi River, it is said to have been founded by the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, where he established the first Sikh commune.
Sikh architecture is a style of architecture that was developed under the Sikh Confederacy and Sikh Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Punjab region. Due to its progressive style, it is constantly evolving into many newly developing branches with new contemporary styles. Although Sikh architecture was initially developed within Sikhism its style has been used in many non-religious buildings due to its beauty. 300 years ago, Sikh architecture was distinguished for its many curves and straight lines; Keshgarh Sahib and the Harmandir Sahib are prime examples.
Sardar Gurbachan Singh was a Sikh scholar, professor, and author. He was born in Moonak, Sangrur district. He was a lecturer at the Sikh National College at Lahore. At the Banaras Hindu University he held the Guru Nanak Chair of Sikh Studies. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1985. He received in 1985 the National fellowship by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.
Indian Sikhs number approximately 21 million people and account for 1.7% of India's population as of 2011, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. The majority of the nation's Sikhs live in the northern state of Punjab, which is the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world.
German Sikhs are a growing religious minority in Germany. The majority of German Sikhs have their roots from the Punjab, India with the remaining coming from the Afghan Sikh community or through conversion. The number of Sikhs is estimated to be between 25,000. Germany had the fifth highest Sikh population in Europe after United Kingdom (524,000), Italy (220,000), Portugal (35,000) and Spain (26,000).
Dutch Sikhs form a religious minority in the Netherlands. They number around 15,000 and most of them live in or around Amsterdam. There are nine gurudwaras in the Netherlands.
Sikhism in Scotland includes all aspects of Sikh life and Sikhism in Scotland. Sikhs have been present in Scotland for over a century, with the first documented Sikh, Maharaja Daleep Singh, arriving in Perthshire in 1855. The next wave of migration was in early-to-mid 1920s when prominent Sikhs of the Bhat/Bhatra community established themselves in Glasgow and Edinburgh. However, the bulk of Sikhs in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century. In Scotland, Sikhs represented about 0.2% of the population (10,988) in the 2022 census.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, also called Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, located in Shakargarh, Narowal District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is built on the historic site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib.
Sikhism inAfghanistan in the contemporary era is limited to small populations, primarily in major cities, with the largest numbers of Afghan Sikhs living in Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kabul, and to a lesser extent in Kandahar and Khost. Sikhs have been the most prevalent non-Muslim minority in Afghanistan, and despite the many political changes in recent Afghan history, governments and political groups have generally not indulged in openly discriminating against the Sikh minority; however, their status have been severely impacted amid the country's conflict since 1978.
Gurdwara Janam Asthan, also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born. The shrine is located in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan.
The Masjid-e-Hindan is a Sikh gurdwara in Tehran, Iran. The gurdwara was established in 1941 and serves Tehran's very small Sikh community. Despite its name, the complex is not an Islamic Mosque, and is given its name due to the Muslim majority in Iran.
Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947. Among the eighteen historical gurdwaras in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest gurdwara in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring Republic of India.
The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India. The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, 4.7 kilometres from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa. However, Pakistani Sikhs are unable to use the border crossing, and cannot access Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side without first obtaining an Indian visa or unless they work there.
